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So much for a calming moment. She felt her heart just starting to slow down back to normal. The rest of the fuel up, thankfully, went by uneventfully. She waved goodbye as George made his way back around to the marina, the small waves lapping at the berth as he disappeared around the corner. She turned to go back up the ramp when her phone buzzed.

Taylor 2:48pm:

Nice shirt.

She looked down at herFeelin’ Nautishirt and smiled. She hadn’t even thought about what she was wearing when she threw it on this morning. She looked around the marina and spotted Taylor waving from the mast of one of the boats.

“Ahoy there, sailor!” she called out with a grin.

“Ahhhoooy!” Taylor shouted back with an exaggerated wave.

Sam shook her head, still smiling.

This woman definitely had good timing for popping up and making her feel better. It was nice that she also seemed to have picked up more work in the area; one of the perks of working on a peninsula, everyone knew everyone. You did a good job, and people would talk, no marketing necessary.

It was how the marine shop did so well. Service was top priority, and people appreciated that. It was one of the things Sam admired most about what her dad had done with Garner Marine as a business. It’s also what made it so hard to find someone else to replace her or her dad when it was time, but there had to be a way. That was a problem for another day. She texted Alex as she made her way back to the shop.

Sam 2:51pm:

Dude just swallowed a jellyfish.

Whole.

Alex 2:52pm:

HA! What!?

I mean you come up with some kicker customers but this is a new one. Do I even ask what happened?

She gave her a quick rundown.

Alex 2:57pm:

Just wow. Save some of these juicy stories for our catch up on Saturday. Happy to meet at the usual?

Sam 2:58pm:

The Wharf at 7? Don’t worry I’ll save some good stuff to tell!

Alex 2:58m:

Done and yay!

Chapter Seven

Wow, Sam looked really good in that ridiculous T-shirt. She was always so effortlessly casual. She’d caught her voice on the breeze as she’d laughed with a guy fuelling up his boat. Taylor also needed to focus and definitely not still be watching her soon-to-be client walk all the way back up to the shop.

What are you doing Taylor? She’s most likely straight anyway and… it’s meant to be Taylor Time, remember? Or hey, think about Liz.Her eyes narrowed. Yep, just like a bucket of cold water. Right, now back to work.

She was up the mast on the yacht of a new customer by the name of Larry. He was too old to climb up nowadays, so it was up to her to service all the rigging. She wasn’t afraid of heights, but being up a mast wasn’t for the faint of heart. The swaying increased the higher she got, making it feel much more precarious than being high up on solid ground. Even though she was in a harness, she still held on thatliiiittlebit tighter.

So far, she’d already found a cracked shackle on one of the halyards and was thankful he’d got her up here before taking the boat out on any further trips.

Still thinking about her chat with Sam that morning, Taylor was surprised she’d gone and spoken with her dad so quickly.That took some balls! Their conversation must’ve meant more than Taylor had originally thought. Didn’t Sam have other friends who would’ve given similar advice before? Surely.

She could tell Sam seemed shaken and slightly upset from all her rambling, but she didn’t know her well enough to know how to handle it. Getting hung up on didn’t feel great, but Taylor knew how she could react in those moments too. Jess definitely knew that all too well.

“How are you getting on, Taylor?” Larry shouted from below, snapping her from her thoughts.